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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 7, NUMBER 34, AUGUST 26, 2007 TOUGH WEEK For several of us, and in many ways, this has been a tough week. Life never ceases to amaze with its twists and little surprises along the way. I thought about writing an article that would contain veiled complaints about how difficult the past week had been. But then I looked out of my window and decided that that was silly. This is the direction in which I choose to go, and will choose to go, from now on.
I MARVEL
It is a beautiful day today, the sun is shining bright, The vivid green of the leaf filled trees stands out against the blue A cloud drifts by in wisps of white and makes me think of You.
A bird lands on my windowsill, it is a gorgeous cardinal red, It looks inside as though it sees, then lifts its wings in flight. I pause and smile and bow my head as I marvel at Your might.
There is a fox that lives round here; rabbits, squirrels, and a groundhog too. So many creatures, each one unique and adding to the glory of my view. Why are they here? What do they do? They make me marvel as I think of You.
I’ll go home a little later, embrace my wife, talk to my kids and even walk my dog. Love fills the house where I most like to be and I know it is Your plan. But why do You care and why such love, and I marvel at what You’ve done for man.
I frequently walk in a park that has an arboretum. I will be there today. It is filled with sculptured trees, manicured bushes and flowers of every color and hue. There is no way to walk those paths, smell the flowers and watch the bees, without marveling at You.
Two butterflies flew pass my window as I wrote that last line – one white and the other of multi-shades. You know them, don’t You? You know the course their flights will take, the very fabric of their wings. How can I but marvel, be filled with wonderment and be amazed as with praise and gratitude my heart sings?
I really wanted to complain this week, to rail and criticize. But that is something I’ve no right to do as I marvel at Your skies. The vast space that covers me I can but a tiny portion see, and even that I don’t understand. And yet I know You look at me, and care for me, a tiny little man.
Greg Litmer
The Following is an Oldie but a Goodie
WHAT ABOUT GOSSIP Have you ever been the object of gossip? I have, and I am here to tell you that it hurts. Oh boy, does it hurt. I have been in congregations where its effects were devastating. Gossip can tear down a congregation as quickly and efficiently as anything else. I have heard it said before, “Kids can be so cruel”, and usually that refers to a child being picked on, and having stories told about them. I think we all know that adults can be cruel too. Look with me at the wisdom of Solomon. In Proverbs 11:13 he wrote, He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy conceals a matters.” Proverbs 16:28 says, “A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends.” May I add that I believe that that is precisely what a slanderer intends to do. Proverbs 26:20 informs us, “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.” The prohibitions against gossip are equally clear and adamant in the New Testament as well. In 1 Timothy 5, the Apostle Paul was writing to Timothy of certain obligations a congregation has in the realm of benevolence. In verses 9-13, he wrote, “Let a widow be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. And at the same time they learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.” We can hurt someone so badly with our tongues, and I don’t know why anyone who wears the name of Christ would ever want to do it. As children of God, we are Christians all the time. Our responsibility is to strive to be what the Lord would have us to be every minute of every day. That involves controlling our tongues.
Greg Litmer
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